In the bivouac of Bishain the afternoon before the real fire started in Dakar with stage 1, the British firm Defend announced his arrival at Dakar in competition for the next three years, from 2026 to 2028. This will be done in the Stock category, formerly known as T2, for production vehicles. Why not do it in queen class, in T1+? MD’s question was answered James Barclay, Managing Director of JLR Motorsport, making sure that he is not interested in competing in a prototype race as the Defender is already a car with Dakar DNA and the aim is to demonstrate the capabilities of his production car in the toughest race in the world.
“That’s a very good question. To be honest, for us to join the T1`+ class is not authentic. The Defender is the original off-road vehicle. It was the first four-wheel drive off-road vehicle in history. So for us to enter motorsport, it is not necessary. If only we could do it the right way. And the right way is to demonstrate the capabilities of our incredible Defender as a production car. “If we’re carrying a spaceframe car that looks like a Defender, it’s not authentic, in our opinion,” express.
Starting in 2026, the Defender’s three years will consist of the participation of two cars in five rounds of the FIA World Rally Raid W2RC, with a third car participating each year in the Dakar.
Changing regulations to allow more brands to join
However, everyone knows that when someone wins and does it against powerful rivals, their victory is greater and will be more noticeable. just so Barclay emphasized the importance of more brands joining the category in the coming years. to revive this class and turn it into a big SUV competition, a type of car with a big market for a few years.
To do this, one regulation that James considers to be left behind must first be changed. old for the production of cars and Defender has worked closely with the FIA to create attractive rules for brands and their current and future production vehicles.
“In 2026, the sporting and technical regulations of this important category will be updated, making it more competitive and making it the perfect platform to demonstrate the Defender’s extreme capacity and durability,” the company said.
“We want the challenge to be about getting our real car to show what it’s capable of. And to support this vision, ASO and the FIA have to look at the regulations and say, ‘Okay, we have to improve this .’ Regulation is based in a very old concept of car production. And what we did was work with the FIA and ASO to adapt the regulations to the reality of what a modern production SUV is. There’s T1, there’s Ultimate, there’s SSV, but there’s no real production category. So we think it has untapped potential for off-road racing. “We think buyers will like the fact that the car they drive on the road is the car they see competing in the Dakar, the real car,” he added.
It remains to be seen which pilots will be interested in joining this project, something that James does not want to reveal at the moment, because they are working on that aspect.
“I call the Dakar the Everest of motorsports. Being here today to see the start of the prologue stage once again reinforces the challenge we face. It will be an incredible adventure, both from a human and engineering perspective, and the team is already working hard to develop the Defender within the new FIA W2RC Stock regulation for 2026which will give rise to such a competitive category. “We, together with the FIA, ASO and other manufacturers, helped shape these new regulations, which represent an exciting new chapter for Dakar, W2RC and Rally Raid in general,” argued Mark Cameron , Managing Director of Defend.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
